A heartbroken Mexico City rapper seeks solace in freestyle sessions, finding support in her community. Embracing unconventional healing, she rediscovers her lyrical prowess, achieving liberation through transformation.

Interview with Director Fernanda Tovar

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Thank you. We made this short film out of frustration from not getting funding in Mexico for my first feature film SadGirl. We thought it would be a good idea to do something with what we had at hand: the human and technical team of the Colectivo Colmena. To cure the frustration by proving to ourselves that we could create something away from the common structures of financing and production, and by relying on our community and friends. Moreover, I had been following Güera, a young rapper, for a few months, recording some things that I wasn’t sure how they would turn out, but I was curious to do something related to femininity, the body, and the word. Our conversations led to a desire to combine this documentary material with some fictional scenes in our chase for authenticity and storytelling. This, combined with a thirst to film without a script, relying more on instinct and improvisation, led us to a three-day shoot with a crew of four people in Mexico City.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

You are going to have fun: music, rap, lesbians, forests, textures, lots of visual and auditory stimuli, Mexico City, and MANY dogs. Also, without wanting to spoil anything, I think the final scene never fails to give me goosebumps every time I see it. I think there is something that makes the short film feel like a dream; so if you are a viewer who likes to go to the cinema to trip and let yourself be carried away, I think this is a great opportunity to do so.

I Want to Violently Crash into the Windshield of Love

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

This short film is about transformation and rediscovery. It's about a rapper who can no longer rap because she has a broken heart, but little by little, she reconnects with the world, her community of friends, and herself to do what she loves most again. I think that life sometimes feels like a cycle of closures and rebirths or new beginnings. No matter how much one thinks everything is static and settled, there are always processes of transformation. I believe this short film and the process of making it, from its conception to its premiere, has been one of these cycles for me. Besides that, the world depicted in the short film, the sensations and feelings, are some of the things I love most in life. It’s so personal that even the dogs of the Collective have their own cameos in the short and it was entirely shot in our office and the streets we walk in every day.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

There was never really a script; it was more of an outline of ideas on how the narrative and the documentary material we had could be constructed. I believe the real discovery of the story came during the editing process. That process, with the help of José Pablo Escamilla (Mostro, Firedream) and Francisco Borrajo (Playa), was very collaborative and communal.We sought to find the story that was there and the best way to tell it. We tried many things, and we invited our friends to watch it and see what they felt. I think it would be difficult to compare the starting point with the final result, as it was always much more about the process.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

We haven’t received much feedback yet, as Tribeca will be the home of our World Premiere. However, during the editing process, we watched it with several friends who gave us incredibly valuable advice and helped us find our way. In reality, very few people have seen the finished short film so far, but those who have seen it have identified with it in different ways. I think each person has understood different things or has been drawn to different sensations, but what they say most often is that the short film feels like a dream. We hope the audience at Tribeca enjoys it a lot, we’re looking forward to knowing what everyone thinks about it!

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

It’s a challenge for me to do something that isn’t super narrative. I studied film and learned all about narrative theory and how to tell a story, the acts, Aristotle, and so on. I think up until now, they had served as my lifeline. This is the first time I’m doing something where the plot isn’t the most important thing, but rather the feeling of life. That has been a personal challenge because sometimes I get anxious and want to ensure that everyone understands what we want to convey. I’m discovering that there is something very beautiful in allowing each person to discover the story and relate to it from a unique place; in ways I could never have imagined.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I think one of the most difficult things about making a short film is getting it seen; there aren’t many spaces for screening short films. Having the short on www.wearemovingstories.com is a great opportunity for it to reach a wider audience, presenting it not only to a physical audience but also virtually. Additionally, it is a great pride to share space with many other audiovisual pieces that we love and by artists we deeply admire. We like being part of their diversity.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

We would like to reach the eyes and ears of international sales agents, and platforms that can help our short film reach a wider audience. Distributors, festival directors, journalists who review it, and anyone who can help us get this short film seen and find its place in the world.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I would like it to reach people who identify with these girls who rap and who try to survive in this world that suddenly feels too fast. I think it is also important to talk about the history of the making of the short film, away from the common structures of financing and production, and to put the power of community and collectivity as powerful forces of creation in cinema as well.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

How to recover from a difficult moment with the help of your community? How to generate parallel structures of production and financing based on communities and/or collectives? Have you ever told your problems to crickets?

Would you like to add anything else?

This short film is made in a way that represents how we want to make cinema: with friends, about topics that touch us and can generate a dialogue with the audience, and in ways of production that promote environments of respect with a collective spirit. We hope you feel it when watching I Want to Crash Head-On into the Windshield of Love.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

In Colectivo Colmena, we are currently in the financing stage of my debut feature film Una chica triste, as well as developing other projects from members of the collective, such as José Pablo Escamilla's new film Adiós a Satán, Mauricio Calderón Rico's second film Americana (following Todos los Incendios), and other collaborative projects with the production company Woo Films.

I Want to Violently Crash into the Windshield of Love poster

Interview: June 2024

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

I Want to Violently Crash into the Windshield of Love

Length: 14:00

Director: Fernanda Tovar

Producer: Daniel Loustaunau

About the writer, director and producer:

FERNANDA TOVAR, born in Mexico City in 1991, graduated from the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica. She received a grant from FONCA to write Una chica triste. Fernanda's short film Mi edad, la tuya y la edad del mundoearned a special mention at the 2021 Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia and she was later invited to the Semaine de la Critique at the Cannes Film Festival. Her work has also been recognized at festivals such as Tribeca, Festival International de cine de Morelia, Cinélatino Toulouse, and La Habana. Currently, she is developing her first feature film, Una chica triste.

DANIEL LOUSTAUNAU is a Berlinale Talents 2019, 2023, IFFR Producers Lab Alumnee 2023. Creative producer born in Puerto Vallarta. Founder of Colectivo Colmena, a collective of Mexican filmmakers exploring new forms of financing and production, believing in cinema as a tool for personal and collective transformation. He is the producer of the debut films Monstruo de Xibalba by Manuela Irene and Todos los Incendios by Mauricio Calderon Rico. Currently, within Colectivo Colmena, he is developing projects such as Adiós a Satán by José Pablo Escamilla, Una chica triste by Fernanda Tovar, and Dios y la cumbia del diablo by Carlos Lenin in co-production with Huasteca Casa Cinematográfica.

Key cast: La Güera (Talent), Pau Sitar (Talent), La Bruja (Talent), Thamvora (Talent), Mari Jane (Talent), Salma Sánchez (Talent)

Instagram: @colectivocolmena